


Somebody Shine a Light (I'm Frozen By the Fear in Me)

by doctornineandthreequarters



Series: Iron Man Bingo [20]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Iron Man Bingo 2019, Nightmares, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Lives, What Endgame ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 08:09:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20306227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctornineandthreequarters/pseuds/doctornineandthreequarters
Summary: “It’s stupid. I’m Spider-Man, I’m not supposed to have nightmares.”----Or, after Peter has a nightmare, Tony is there to comfort him.Iron Man Bingo #20- Peter Parker





	Somebody Shine a Light (I'm Frozen By the Fear in Me)

**Author's Note:**

> My twentieth prompt for my Iron Man Bingo card was Peter Parker. So enjoy some Irondad and Spiderson!

Tony was never much for sleeping. He did his best work at late hours when he couldn’t sleep. But after the third snap, the one that left him in a coma for weeks and without his right arm, he slept a lot more. His body was still recovering after all. Even after he was finally allowed to leave the hospital, he still spent a lot of time resting. Pepper gently teased him about it, that it was the most sleep he had ever got. But she was also extraordinarily grateful that he was alive and they had more time together.

The only reason he didn’t sleep through the night now was if FRIDAY alerted him of something being wrong. Which was why Tony was pulling himself out of bed at 3 AM that night. Pepper was fast asleep and Tony moved as quietly as possible, trying not to wake her. He was moving a lot slower these days and needed a cane to help him walk. But he finally made it out of the bedroom and into the hallway. Morgan’s door was shut, but he knew she was fast asleep. The alert hadn’t been about Morgan.

He slowly made his way downstairs and saw the front door was open. As he stepped outside, he could see Peter sitting on the porch. The teenager was sitting on the steps, a blanket wrapped him. Tony leaned against the doorway, just watching the teen.

“I don’t get to see stars like this in Queens,” Peter said not turning around. He turned a little to look at Tony, noticing a slightly surprised look on his face. “I heard you coming down the stairs.” Tony nodded, knowing how strong the kid’s ears were. He made his way slowly over to where Peter was. “Do you…”

“I got it kiddo,” Tony said gently. He lowered himself slowly down onto the step. He grunted a little before leaning back against the step. Peter looked over at him warily and Tony smiled gently. “I’m okay, really.” Peter nodded and they both grew quiet. The teenager’s eyes turned back to the sky, a somewhat vacant look in his eyes. Tony felt a little concern watching him.

“Peter?” Tony’s voice was gentle as he spoke. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Peter said, a quietness to his voice that Tony wasn’t used to. Tony moved so that they were sitting with their shoulders touching. The action went unnoticed by Peter and Tony bit back a sigh. He had never seen the kid like this. 

“When we moved here,” Tony started. “I didn’t even notice the sky. Pepper thought the sky went on for miles, especially after living in a big city for so long. But after getting stuck in space for three weeks, I didn’t notice it. Nothing seemed as massive after that, after seeing nothing but stars and space forever.” He paused, realizing that Peter was breathing heavily. “Kid?” Peter shook his head, a few tears sliding down his face. 

“I,” Peter started, his voice full of fear and sadness. Tony looked down at his hands and saw they were shaking. He then looked up at Peter and saw his eyes were red and full of tears. Tony wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulder. Peter sniffled as the tears started to fall more freely.

“Oh kiddo,” Tony said gently, pulling Peter closely to him. A few sobs bubbled put of Peter’s throat. Tony just held onto him with one hand and began to gently card his other hand through Peter’s hair. He had seen the kid upset before, but never like this. Peter just cried, his whole body shaking as Tony tried to calm him down. Tony tried to breathe steadily, ignoring the painful feeling in his chest that seemed to bubble up anytime he saw the kid hurt. 

“I’m sorry.” Peter whispered the words as he pulled away. He wiped the blanket across his face, trying to rid himself of the tears that were still falling slowly.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Tony suggested gently. Peter looked up at him, his brown eyes full of fear. “I’m all ears kiddo.” 

“I, um,” Peter said, a tinge of shame mixed into the normal sounds of his voice. “I had a nightmare.” He looked at Tony and when the genius said nothing and his face only showed a gentle concern, Peter continued. “I was b-back on T-titan and I c-could f-feel myself fading away. I could feel it all over again.” He furiously wiped at his eyes, but Tony gently stopped him and just pulled the teen closer to him. “W-when I w-woke up I f-felt like I couldn’t breathe. A-and i-it was so dark in my room.” 

“Oh kiddo,” Tony said, hugging Peter tightly. He could only imagine the fear of having to relive that moment. 

“It’s stupid,” Peter said bitterly. “I’m Spider-Man, I’m not supposed to have nightmares.” Tony shook his head and Peter looked up at him.

“You’re allowed to be afraid kid,” Tony said, pushing some of Peter’s hair off his face. With his big brown eyes staring up at him, Tony took a moment to see just how young Peter looked. He was a kid and yet he had been through so much. It hurt Tony’s heart to think about the pain that Peter had gone through. And Titan, the battle, all of that only added to that.

“How can I be a hero when I’m terrified of the dark?” Peter said sadly. “When I’m terrified to sleep because I don’t want to relive almost dying on an alien planet or almost dying during a battle or,” His voice stopped short and he looked at Tony. Tony knew that pained expression. He knew what Peter was going to say. Peter didn’t want to relive his almost death; Tony was certain that had to be haunting Peter as well.

“After New York,” Tony said gently. “I barely slept. I made excuses that I had to focus on protecting the people I loved by making more suits and making them top of the line. But really, I was just terrified to go to sleep. Because every time I did, I saw that damn wormhole, saw myself plummeting back to Earth, saw every horror imaginable from that day. And avoiding it by not sleeping, just made it worse.” 

“So how did you fix it?” Tony sighed. Fix wasn’t the right word. There was no fixing nightmares. 

“I had to stop hiding how I was feeling,” Tony said. “Don’t let this version of me fool you, I was garbage at talking about my feelings and what was going on in my head.” Peter chuckled a little and it made Tony smile. “But luckily, I had Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy on my side and they helped me get through it. So you’ve got to lean on your network kid. Your guy in the chair and that girl you talk about constantly.” Peter’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment at the mention of MJ. “You have to talk to your Aunt, who we both know is always there for you. And you can lean on me too kid.”

“But not literally right?”

“Ha, ha.” Peter smirked and Tony rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smile. “I’m here for you kid, a little worse for the wear, but here nonetheless. So whether it’s a nightmare or something that happened on patrol or you just want to talk, I’ll be right here.” 

“Promise?” Peter asked, his voice so small and innocent. Tony nodded and Peter threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly. Tony hugged him back, resting his chin against Peter’s head. He meant every word. He had lived five years without Peter Parker and had hated every moment. So he would be there for the kid because that was important to him.

“Think you can head back upstairs?” Tony asked gently. “Or do you want to hang out in the living room, maybe watch a movie or something?” 

“I think I’ll try and sleep,” Peter said. “But with the lights on.” Tony nodded and pressed a kiss to the top of Peter’s head. Peter then stood up and offered his arm to Tony. Tony used the kid’s arm to slowly pull himself up. The two then made their way back inside, Peter locking the door after them. Once they were finally upstairs and standing outside of Peter’s room, Peter turned toward Tony. 

“Mister Stark,” Peter started. “Thanks. For you know, everything.” Tony smiled and nodded. He reached forward and pulled Peter into a quick hug before letting go.

“Try and get some rest kid,” Tony said. Peter nodded and headed into his room. When his door was shut, Tony turned and slowly made his way into the master bedroom.

“Tony?” Pepper was sitting up in bed, the light on, and concern on her face. “Is everything okay?” Tony slowly made his way over to the bed, his cane sliding the wooden floor. He thought about his own fears before the time heist and how they had been outweighed by an overwhelming need to try and bring Peter back. He thought about the moment the safety covers on the Compound had lifted after Bruce had snapped his fingers, and how the world suddenly, after five long years, felt right again. He thought about seeing Peter for the first time in five years and hugging him tightly, trying to make up for lost time. And he thought about that moment of relief when he woke up in the hospital, alive, with his whole family there waiting for him to wake up. And as he reached the bed, a small smile crossed his face, knowing that things were finally okay. That life was finally as it should be. He sat down next to his wife and took her hand.

“Everything’s okay. And everything’s going to keep being okay, no matter what.”

After everything they had all been through, he believed that above anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> Scream with me on my tumblr? https://doctornineandthreequarters.tumblr.com/


End file.
